Black rectangle on Microsoft Word

June 4, 2008 8:26 PM

There is a black rectangle across the bottom of my Word document (about an inch from the bottom of the page, about half an inch tall, stretching across the page). Can you get it to go away?

Here's what I know:

Microsoft Word, 2002, SP3, Windows XP Home

I've tried restarting everything.

The black bar only shows up in Print Layout view (which is the one I want: I need to view comments and don't want to have to use that reviewing panel at the bottom).

This is _v12 of a document. _v9 doesn't have it (the only one I tried).

It was created on a PC but recently used by someone on a Mac (after _v9).

Someone else on a PC (I think running XP Pro) doesn't get this black bar for this document.

I can't find a way to select the black rectangle. (Is there some Word parallel of Powerpoint's Master Slide?)

If I start a new Word document on my computer, it doesn't have this rectangle.

If I Select All in the _v12 document and copy and paste it into that clean new Word document I just opened, the black bar comes with it.

Viewing headers and footers hasn't helped.

Anyone have any ideas?

posted by salvia to Computers & Internet (9 answers total)

Response by poster: New discoveries: its height varies, and it is not on every page. The few where it is missing seem to have either a table or a text box. I haven't checked whether there are pages with text boxes that don't have it, but it's possible that there aren't any (there aren't many in the document).

The document is full of reviewers' comments.
posted by salvia at 8:31 PM on June 4, 2008

Try the footer/header view. Can you select the black bar?

If that doesn't work, try "Format/Background" and see if it's a picture or text item set up as a watermark.
posted by aeschenkarnos at 8:37 PM on June 4, 2008

Try pasting it into Notepad or Wordpad, then back into a new Word document.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:38 PM on June 4, 2008

Sorry, missed that you said viewing headers and footers hasn't helped. However, it is possible to put header and footer items outside the ordinarily expected header/footer area.
posted by aeschenkarnos at 8:39 PM on June 4, 2008

Response by poster: Thanks a lot for these suggestions.

No watermark. The header-footer view still didn't let me select the rectangle. Pasting it into notepad and back into Word did get rid of it, but it would also mean I'd have to redo all the formating, right? Since it's a 53-page document, I'd almost rather dodge the rectangle by toggling the view than deal with that (even with consistent styles, it'd take a while).
posted by salvia at 8:51 PM on June 4, 2008

Are you tracking changes? Does the problem go away once you accept all changes? This has solved many a problem for me in word.

If you could send or post a screenshot, that would help a lot.
posted by prefpara at 9:08 PM on June 4, 2008

Response by poster: I tried accepting all changes, and that didn't help.

MefiMail me your email and I'll email you a screen shot?
posted by salvia at 9:44 PM on June 4, 2008

Response by poster: Hmm, it does have something to do with track changes. If I copy and paste which makes all the changes get accepted then the rectangles do disappear (why is it doing it that way this time and not before?). That's something we can use after my co-writer checks my changes, if I can't get this figured out before then.
posted by salvia at 9:55 PM on June 4, 2008

Response by poster: (insert a few commas in that sentence please)
posted by salvia at 9:56 PM on June 4, 2008